Kin held for killing 65-year-old lady of property dispute

In the gruesome murder of a 65-year-old woman who was found dead in her flat on Wednesday, the police have arrested the victim’s daughter-in-law for killing her over money and a longstanding property dispute

MUMBAI: In the gruesome murder of a 65-year-old woman who was found dead in her flat on Wednesday, the police have arrested the victim’s daughter-in-law for killing her over money and a longstanding property dispute.

Kin held for killing 65-year-old lady of property dispute

According to the Ghatkopar police, the deceased, Shehnaz Anis Qazi, lived alone in the Mukund Society in Ghatkopar West after the death of her husband in 2018. Her husband’s second wife, Ayesha, had seven children, four from an earlier marriage, and three with Qazi’s former husband. One of Ayesha’s sons from an earlier marriage, Irfan had passed away recently, but his 50-year-old wife, Mumtaz would often visit Qazi to settle a property dispute.

The police said that on Wednesday, Mumtaz visited Shehnaz to demand ₹2 lakh. Shehnaz, who owned some property and gold, refused. “A quarrel broke out, after which Mumtaz struck Shehnaz on the head with an iron rod and fled with valuables,” an officer said.

After scouring through CCTV footage, the police said, “We saw that a woman wearing a burqa had walked out of the building and gone to Kurla. We followed the CCTV trail and found Mumtaz.” Mumtaz has been remanded to police custody till December 4 by a local court.

On Wednesday, Qazi’s body was discovered by her neighbour Saika Ansari and her daughter Yemen. The deceased’s sister, unable to reach her phone, had called up the neighbours to check on her. When the police were informed of the incident, they initially registered an accidental death, which was later converted into a murder case after they found injuries on Qazi’s head.